Mile-High Meringue

This recipe came from my friend, Nan, who owns and operates Elsie Grace’s Gift Shoppe and Gourmet Mixes, in Frankfurt, Ks., also the home of Elsie Grace’s No Roll Pie Crust Mix – one of my all-time favorite Kansas products! Nan makes homemade cream pies every single day in her shop, so I knew her meringue recipe would be spot-on. However, when she first shared her recipe, I was stunned; her meringue recipe included WATER…..what the heck??? I knew she was telling me the truth, but I did march RIGHT home to test her recipe. Boy-oh-boy was I ever thrilled when it worked…..beautifully!

Use a small spoon or spatula to make decorative peaks and swirls on the top of the meringue, as desired.

**Please note: I think the directions for baking, as above, are a key step to ensuring Nan’s meringue recipe is successful. Many meringue recipes call for baking at a high temperature for just a few minutes. Baking the meringue pie at a lower temperature, like in this recipe, really helps the meringue fully cook INSIDE, which keeps the meringue from wanting to shrink back (away from the edges) when it cools, as well as keeping meringue-weep (the liquid that you often find between meringue and the pie filling) to a minimum.

KitchenSmack💋: Meringue pies are best sliced using a knife that has been dipped into cold water, then wiped clean before dipping and slicing again until pie is completely sliced as desired.